NMCWatch – brand overhaul + strategy

Branding design + website + podcast + comms, marketing & learning strategies

NMCWatch approached me to help them with their comms and marketing. As with other non-profits I’ve worked with, it was a good time in their development for a brand overhaul. Creating a fit-for-purpose presence makes all future work around comms, marketing, recruitment and fundraising much easier. So it is an important decision to make early in a new working relationship.

Clear messaging is central to rebranding any organisation. Once the key elements are set, other activities adopt a natural order.

One of the bigger comms challenges for NMCWatch is anonymity. Their work is often with very traumatised people, so developing a visual language that didn’t rely on a lot of photography and video was important.

Developing a stronger tone of voice, clarifying what they do, how they do it and enabling their very niche audience, was essential too. They had a lot of content so I re-ordered this and improved their SEO, reinforcing their thought-leadership role.

So far, I have created a logo refresh, a new website involving a thorough UX deep-dive, research into NMCWatch online forums, copywriting, illustrations, and WordPress build.

I have also been producing a podcast for NMCWatch, and am helping them strategise internal training and learning projects.

Online course content

DESIGN

Online course content

When NMCWatch approached me it was a good time in their development for a brand refresh. As with others I have helped, creating a presence reflective of the organisation was key to giving their future communications and fundraising a solid base.

Clear messaging is central to rebranding any organisation. Once the key elements are set, other activities adopt a natural order.

Julien Truffaut is a leading Scala web developer. In 2020 he asked for my help to create a complete online course teaching Functional Programming. The process took nearly two years.

At first, I helped Julien set up his studio so that he could self-shoot all the content for his course. I compiled a list of equipment he needed – camera, lights, autocue, microphone, soundproofing – and a comprehensive series of plans, diagrams and settings to show him how to record high-quality videos that both sounded and looked professionally produced.

I then produced all 50+ videos for the course, from Julien’s recordings, creating dynamic edits that reflected his high-quality content. I also expanded his course branding so that it worked for moving image – transitions, split-screen, picture-in-picture, animated logo and end screens. The videos below show how this evolved over time to create an intuitive learning experience for his subscribers.

With my creative direction and post-production experience, I was able to bring some extra magic to Julien’s highly detailed approach and leave him very happy with end result.

“It was awesome. I don’t think I would have managed without James. There is so much to learn, it can be overwhelming, but he has always been here to help me with all the challenges I faced. We found a very efficient workflow and I am really happy about the results.”

Watch Julien’s full testimonial.

One of the big communications challenges for NMCWatch is anonymity, so developing a visual language that didn’t rely on photography and video featuring their cohort was important.

I focussed on developing a stronger tone of voice to clarify what they do, how they do it, and to support their very niche audience. This involved re-ordering their existing content, and improving SEO while reinforcing their thought-leadership role.

Primary palette

Midnight blue

Mid blue

Orange

Warm grey

Secondary palette

Midnight green

Light blue

Gold

Lemon

Text black

So far, I have redesigned their visual brand elements and created a new website involving a thorough UX deep-dive, copywriting, illustrations, and WordPress build.

I also produce a podcast for NMCWatch and am helping them strategise internal training and learning projects.

Check out Julien’s Scala course.